Spy-Smasher was one of the most popular characters of Fawcett Comics, along with Captain Marvel. He was even the star of a 12-part film serial from 1942. He's pretty much the epitome of wartime adventure characters; an amalgam of Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Batman.

Spy-Smasher was acquired by DC along with the rest of Fawcett. He was going by Crime-Smasher at the time, as it was no longer wartime, and he was placed in the Earth-S part of the Multiverse along with his Fawcett counterparts.

A new Spy-Smasher character was introduced in Gail Simone's Birds of Prey, and it established that Alan was a known hero of World War II, exactly as he should be.